"The most eccentric-looking wizard...Slightly cross-eyed, with shoulder-length white hair the texture of candyfloss, he wore a white cap whose tassel dangled in front of his nose and robes of an eye-watering shade of egg-yolk yellow. An odd symbol, rather like a triangular eye, glistened from a golden chain around his neck"

Xenophilius "Xeno" Lovegood (fl. 1981-2014) was the editor of The Quibbler magazine, the husband of Pandora, and the father of Luna Lovegood. His wife died when their only child was nine years old, and he raised his daughter by himself. He was likely the source of his daughter’s eccentric beliefs, although he was often correct in his assumptions. He believed in the existence of the Deathly Hallows and supported Harry in The Quibbler when few others would.

At some point during his life, Xenophilius attended one of Eldred Worple's book signings. It is likely that he shared his ridiculous beliefs and/or conspiracy theories with Worple, as the latter remembered him as a "seriously unbalanced man".[3]

When Rufus Scrimgeour became Minister for Magic, Xenophilius planned to print a story in The Quibbler stating that Scrimgeour was a vampire. However the Ministry stepped in and prevented him from printing the story; Xenophilius believed that this was because the Ministry did not want the truth to get out.

Daughter's ransom

"They took my Luna because of what I've been writing. They took my Luna and I don't know where she is, what they've done to her. But they might give her back to me if I -- If I... I must save Luna. I cannot lose Luna. You must not leave."

Xenophilius's public support of Harry Potter eventually got him in trouble with Death Eaters, who kidnapped his daughter and held her hostage at Malfoy Manor; Xenophilius intended to do whatever it took to get her back. He agreed to publish anti-Potter articles in the Quibbler, following the line of the Voldemort-dominated Ministry. When he was visited by Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger later in the year, Xenophilius alerted Death Eaters, hoping they would return Luna in exchange. While waiting for the Death Eaters' arrival, Xenophilius told the trio about the Deathly Hallows, and explained that the symbol of the Deathly Hallows was worn by believers and seekers of the Hallows to identify themselves to one another. When they grew suspicious of him after realising that Luna had not been home in some time, Xenophilius attempted to stun Harry and his friends, but missed, hitting an erumpent horn and causing his house to collapse.

Xeno outside his house.

The Death Eaters Travers and Selwyn arrived and briefly tortured Xenophilius, believing that he was trying to trick them about Harry being at his home. After the Human-presence-revealing spell revealed that there were others in the house, the Death Eaters sent Xenophilius up the stairs. Hermione rapidly wiped his memory of what they had discussed with him, and then blasted a hole through the floor to facilitate the trio's escape, engineering it so that the Death Eaters saw that Harry was indeed there, thus ensuring that neither Xenophilius nor Luna were punished for lying, and so that neither saw Ron, who was supposed to be at home sick with spattergroit.

Imprisonment and release

After the trio's escape, Xenophilius was arrested and sent to Azkaban. His attempted betrayal was unknown, with the anti-Potter issue of the Quibbler buried under the debris of his home and never distributed. He was released after Voldemort’s defeat in May of 1998. Luna, in the meantime, was rescued by the house-elfDobby from Malfoy Manor, and survived the war. Harry, Ron and Hermione preserved Xenophilius' reputation and never revealed the truth, as his attempted betrayal had been motivated solely by concern for his daughter.

Later life

As an adult, Luna would soon come to realise the truth about her father, and accepted that some of his creatures did not exist. She married Rolf Scamander, grandson of the famous Newt Scamander, and the couple had twins, Lorcan and Lysander Scamander, thus making Xenophilius a grandfather. It is not known what happened to Xenophilius beyond this.

Physical appearance

Xenophilius was an eccentric-looking wizard, who looked slightly cross-eyed and had shoulder length hair that was the texture of candyfloss.

Xenophilius cared a great deal about his daughter Luna, and shared her strange beliefs; he was likely the cause of them. He thought the Daily Prophet was an awful paper, and only published stories that he thought were important and needed to be known by the public. He was extremely firm in his bizarre beliefs and views, and felt those who contradicted them were "...painfully limited. Narrow. Close-minded ". According to Luna, her father did not care about making money, and did not pay people to write for The Quibbler and that they did so because it was an honour to see their name in print. Luna also said that her father was supportive of any anti-Ministry action. Mr. Lovegood fully supported Harry Potter, and encouraged others to do so as well, until his daughter was kidnapped by Death Eaters. Xenophilius cared about Luna so much that he was willing to hand Harry, Ron and Hermione over to the Death Eaters in exchange for his daughter.

Among his beliefs was the belief in the Deathly Hallows, (which actually proved to be real), as well as the existence of numerous magical cryptids such of Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. He also believed that gnomes had powerful magic, and that the dirigible plum would enhance one's ability to accept the extraordinary. Although he sought the Deathly Hallows, given his personality, he was likely interested in them more as a matter of curiosity about such unusual objects, rather than a desire to actually possess or use them.

Given his tendency to belief in dubious and ridiculous views, it is not far-fetched to believe that he became the subject of pranks and mockery, as a young wizard gave him an Erumpent horn and claimed that it belonged to a Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. Unbeknownst to the Lovegoods, the Erumpent horn will blow up if given even a slightest touch. This also shows that he is ignorant on some of the magical creatures, as he mistakenly believe that it belonged to the non-existant Snorkacks.

Possessions

Xenophilius' wand

Wand: Xenophilius's was of unknown length, core and wood materials. It was purchased by him prior to his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

House: The Lovegood House is a black-coloured cylindrical house on top of a hill with a stream at the base of it, it is located near the village of Ottery St. Catchpole. It is the home of Xenophilius and and his daughter Luna.

Erumpent horn: Xenophilius owned an Erumpent horn that he claimed to be the horn of a Crumple-Horned Snorkack. He proudly displayed it and accidentally blew it up, which resulted in his home being torn apart.

Etymology

Xenophilius' name comes from two Greek words: Xenos "strange" and -Phile "love".As opposed to xenophobe, one who fears the strange, his name means "one who loves the strange."

Xenophilius' name bears a similarity to the X-Files, and like X-Files main character Fox Mulder, he describes himself as a "believer." Both characters investigate and believe in numerous conspiracy theories which are not accepted by their mainstream culture.

Notes and references

↑Xenophilius was not forced to go on the run when Snatchers began scouring across Britain, thus he couldn't have been Muggle-born.

↑"In Ch. 4 of Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince, Horace Slughorn states that family members are often Sorted into the same House. This may indicate that Xeno was Sorted into Ravenclaw, as Luna was Sorted into Ravenclaw. However, there are exceptions. Also, The doorknocker of his house is shaped like an eagle, the symbol of Ravenclaw house.